LOTTERY NEWS

Ever see those leather blinkers that race trainers and owners put over horse's eyes? That's to stop them getting distracted.

Many lottery players are wearing the same sort of blinkers too.

I call them Jackpot Blinkers. Here's why...

When the big games get up to $50-100 Million, that's when many people start to fantasize. They imagine the life they could be leading with that enormous sum of money.

The sizzling temptation of a giant prize makes these blinkered players look only at that game, ignoring anything else.

THE ALTERNATIVES

But smaller games with million dollar prizes are still attractive.

Ignoring them could be a mistake.

The fact is that the large jackpot prizes are harder to win because of the larger numbers involved. A 7 ball number game has more number combinations than a 6 ball number game, and there's less chance of getting the main prize.

There is an answer to the problem.

Large jackpot games often have many secondary prizes. The chance of winning these are much higher.

And in any game it is a lot easier to win a 2nd or 3rd Division prize. Those prizes can be quite large too:

- USA Mega Millions second prize is $250,000.

- The USA Powerball 2nd division is $1 million.

So plan to win the main prize, but don't be blinkered by the smaller games where the low hanging prizes are easier to win.